The invention relates to the process and apparatus for reconstituting the structure and the surface of a railroad track.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,382, Buchter et al, issued May 21, 1974, there is described a track correcting machine and process in which the track is raised and ballast is compacted under the track by means of a plow. The track is then tamped down to the desired correct position by means of a rail engaging tamping tool which imparts a downwardly directed pulsating force to tamp the track down to the correct level. Both plow and tamping device are interrelated by means of a reference system to control operation of the plow and the tamping means to produce between the operation of the two the correct final track condition.
One of the problems with using a plow type device for pushing ballast beneath the track is that, it generally requires that the plow share be inserted between ballast and tie end, thereby separating the track panel from the supporting ballast.
The present invention seeks to provide a process and device in which it is not necessary to completely separate the track panel clear of the ballast thus permitting the entire track structure to be treated as a unit.